Week 3: Robotics and Art

Week 3: Robotics and Art

22 April 2018

Photograph to Painting Comparison

This week was all about the importance of the combination of robotics and art. I truly enjoyed the discussion Walter Benjamin had on the subject, where he covered the difference between the “progressive reaction” and the “reactionary attitude” (Benjamin 3). The type of reaction to photographs and film is different because people are able to experience the artwork on a deeper level of social magnitude. He specifically references the difference between paintings and film, which I believe is a fundamental distinction between mechanical art and traditional art that holds true today. He also delves into the mass production aspects of mechanical systems. I think its interesting when this idea is applied to things like art, because film allows pictures and movies to be widespread among the population, which opens it up to more criticisms. Traditional paintings, on the other hand, can only be in one physical location at a time.

Robots Poster

I think an interesting movie that delves into traditional robotics and art is the 2005 20th Century Fox movie Robots. This movie explores the idea of a traditional human style world run completely by robots with human-like emotions and thought processes. The movie doesn’t delve into the semantics of why robots have taken over the world, but the idea that robots, when developed properly, will be around longer than humans is very relevant to our current rate of innovation. Rodney Brooks, in his TED talk, expands on this idea, talking about how he sees us becoming very dependent on robots who are able to respond to us on the same emotional level. 

Rodney Brooks and a Robot

Overall, I do believe that humans will become more dependent on robotic technology as time goes on. I think robotics have had a much easier time taking over traditional mechanical jobs, like assembly lines, but soon will delve deeper into the artistic world of story creation. This is a future I personally look forward to, since it is so fascinating to witness this expansion of both art and science.

References

Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.

Davis, Douglas. “The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction.” The MIT Press, 1995. Web. 22 Apr. 2018. 

Frank, Priscilla. “Watch Actors Transform Into Living Van Gogh Paintings Before Your Eyes.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 22 Sept. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/loving-vincent-still-paintings_us_59b826f7e4b02da0e13cd1ed.

Martin, Dylan. “Can Rodney Brooks Rebuild U.S. Manufacturing by Selling Robots in China?” Americaninno.com, www.americaninno.com/boston/us-v-china-manufacturing-rethink-robotics-founder-weighs-in/.

“Robots Will Invade Our Lives.” Performance by Rodney Brooks, TED, TED Talk, 2003, www.ted.com/talks/rodney_brooks_on_robots/up-next#t-1098768.

“Robots.” The Movie Database, www.themoviedb.org/movie/9928-robots.

Vesna, Victoria. “Robotics pt1” CoLE. N.p.. Web. 22 Apr 2018. <https://cole.uconline.edu/~UCLA-201209-12F-DESMA-9-1

Wedge, Chris, director. Robots. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2005.